Don't Forget Me
by anna-writes
Summary: AU. Set in the 1920's. Loosely based on 3x03. Please read and review.


**A/N for the sake of this story assume that vampires can reincarnate. Also Stefan has used a pet name for Caroline in this story which I know he hasn't used in the show but the pet name was popular in the 20's , therefore I went with it**.

The memories are as fresh as the blood still stuck in the back of his throat from his most recent kill. It shouldn't still hurt as much, but it does. Ninety years mean nothing to a vampire.

_"Don't forget me, okay?"_

She hadn't realize how those last few words, spoken in jest, would become a cruel and unusual punishment. Or that they would continue to haunt his every waking thought.

He downs himself shot after shot, hoping the acrid burn of alcohol in his stomach would distract him from the flashbacks replaying themselves in a torturous fashion inside his head. But despite his best efforts, the memories fit together like puzzle pieces in the dust of his mind.

She used to be the fiancé of some politician's son. He had got himself involved with some unsavory people, namely vampires. And as retribution they turned his pretty little lady into one of them.

Vampirism didn't quite fit her plans for a white picket fence and kids running in the yard and so she packed her bags and disappeared off the face of the earth only to reemerge again in the most unlikely of places for a well-to-do girl.

Gloria takes a liking to her and convinces the club's manager, an old vampire acquaintance of his, to put her to work. She's horrible at waitressing, but when she sings she gives Gloria a run for her money.

Despite the sweet façade, she has a sharp tongue and the first time they meet she serves his drink over his head.

Rebekah had laughed and teased him for his infatuation. She was just a girl. A pretty one, but there were always pretty girls.

"She reminds me of that blonde milkmaid you used to fancy... before you ripped her head off."

He had not appreciated the reminder and it's enough to remind him to stay away. At least for a few days.

But then she'd catch his eye as she sang those songs that always brought all the pretty boys towards the stage to bat their eyes at her. And she'll smile, that beguiling smile of hers that always killed his resolve.

He should've known nothing good ever lasts. Not for him.

A vampire hunter has appeared.

The wooden bullets have already started raining on their heads. Above the clamor he hears Rebekah shouting for him, but he's too busy scanning the crowds for her.

His heart hammers in his chest as he curses himself for his lack of foresight. Finally he sees her face in the ocean of frantic bodies.

He shoves people out of his path as he makes his way towards her as the wooden bullets continue to ricochet around the room. He careless steps over dead and unconscious bodies, his singular goal was to get to her and get the both of them out of there.

"Stefan!"

She had been barely ten feet away from him and they had both outstretched their hands towards one another when it happens. The first bullet had hit her spine, paralyzing her. The second is the one that finds its mark. He watches her falls to her knees and in an instant he's there beside her.

"Stefan?"

"I'm here, Angel of mine. Shh, don't speak."

"I'm so sorry. I…I love you. I'm sorry."

"No! You're going to be fine. You're going to be fine," he had promised as he cradled her head against his chest.

She nods and manages a small smile. "Don't forget me, okay?"

It was meant to be a lighthearted jab at his age. She had often teased him of their age difference and how he'd soon start losing his mental faculties with perpetual elderliness. He didn't laugh.

He slaps the shot glass down on the bar counter to drown out the memory. He realizes now that he had been lying and she had ended up dying in his arms while all the chaos and the rampage of that night plays in mute inside his head.

For years he told himself that she'd be back. That was the way of the turned vampires. They're damned creatures cursed to relive their lives again as mortals only to repeat the violent process of turning over and over again. But it's been ninety long lonely years and the world has only grown larger and more expansive. So he waits hides in the shadows of Mystic Falls, follows the Katherine look-alike, but stays for someone else:

The chiming of the bar's door sounds startles him from his depressive reverie.

"Come _on_, Bonnie. We're here to have fun! Can I get a smile please?"

The familiar voice seemed to have manifested themselves right out of his memories and he turns to see the very face that had been haunting his thoughts come alive in the flesh.

He snaps his fingers to gather the attention of the busboy.

"Excuse me. Who is that girl over there?"

The boy follows his line of sight and answers casually, "Oh! That's Caroline. Sheriff Forbes's daughter. She usually organizes these type of founder events."

He watches her laugh and chatter with her friends for a moment before finishing his drink. It's only then that he recalls the second part to her parting words.

_"We'll see each other again." _


End file.
